Airship.



A. BRYANT.

AIRSHIP. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 18, 1913.

1,071,505, Patented Aug. 26, 1913.

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A. BRYANT.

AIRSHIP.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 18, 1913. 1,071,505. Patented Aug. 26, 1913.

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AIRSHIP.

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"FTC j ALEXANDER BRYANT, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

AIRSHIP.

Application filed March 18,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALEXANDER BRYANT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented new and useful Im provements in Airships, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to airships, and its primary object is to provide an aerial vessel of this character which may be inexpensively constructed and operated, and which will carry a number of passengers.

A further object of the invention is to provide an airship which will be compact in construction, stable in flight, capable of carrying sufficient fuel and other supplies for a prescribed cruise, and which embodies a novel construction and arrangement of parts whereby greater comfort, conveniences and general advantages are obtained.

The inventionconsists of the features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts, hereinafter fully described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of an airship embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is a front elevation. Fig. 4 is a vertical transverse section. Fig. 5 is a view showing the mechanism for operating the lifting and sustaining wings.

In carrying my invention into practice, I provide a boat-shaped car 1, having suitable launching and landing wheels 2, a main deck 3, and a vertical rudder 4. The interior of this car may be suitably prepared to provide compartments for the accommodation of passengers and crew, and for the storage of fuel and other supplies.

Rising from the deck of the car 1 are uprights 5, connected by suitable braces 6 with each other, and stayed from the bow and stern portions of the car by other braces 7 Supported upon the top of the frame is an aerostat 8, of proper sustaining capacity, and supported by the frame between the main deck and aerostat is an upper deck 9, between which and the main deck are stairways or ladders 10. Ladders 11 are also provided to enable the members of the crew to ascend to the aerostat for the purpose of repairing or replenishing the same with gas, or for repairing any of the parts of the sustaining and propelling mechanism.

The main deck 3 is provided with seats 12 Specification of Letters Patent.

1913. Serial No. 755,237.

for the aviator and a determined number of passengers, while upon the upper deck 9 is arranged a storage battery 13, from which current is supplied in practice through suitable conductors and switch mechanism to one or more motors 14 positioned upon the deck 9 or upon the top of the framework. In lieu of a storage battery and an electric driving plant, an internal combustion motor or other preferred type of power plant may be used.

Patented Aug. 26,1913.

Extending from the top of the framework immediately above and on opposite sldes of the aerostat are outwardly and upwardly angled sustaining and stabilizing planes 15, and arranged at the rear of said upper portion of the framework is a stabilizing tail and horizontal rudder 16, suitable connect-ions l7 and 18 extending from the respective rudders 4t and 16 to the space between the aerostat and deck 9 or, if desired, to the space between the decks 3 and 9, so as to be easily reached and controlled by the aviator or engineer.

For the purpose of coacting with the aerostats and planes to sustain the machine in flight, as well as to give propulsion thereto, Wings 19 are provided which are arranged above the aerostat and in transverse pairs, on opposite sides of the longitudinal center of the vessel, the pairs of wings being arranged equidistantly apart from front to rear of the supporting surface. These wings are of the flapping type, and of proper dimensions and curvature, and so controlled in action, as to give a lifting and forward driving impulse upon each downward movement thereof. The wings are pivoted, as at 20, for movement in a vertical plane, and the wings of each pair have arms 21 which are connected by sliding link rods 22 with cranks 23 upon a longitudinally extending shaft 24: driven directly or indirectly from the motor or motors, whereby in each revolution of the shaft the wings will be alternately lowered and raised, or given a flapping motion in close simulation of the action of the wings of a bird. In this operation the wings on their downward motion compress the air and give a lifting as well as driving impulse, whereby the ship is propelled'ahead. By regulating the speed of the beating wings as desired, and exhausting gas from the aerostat as occasion requires, the ship may be caused to ascend or descend and may be driven ahead at different speeds. The rudder 4 provides a means for steering the machine to the right or left in a horizontal plane, while by means of the rudder 16 the ship may be steered up or down in a vertical plane without varying the speed of the beating wings, thus enabling the ship to be easily and conveniently controlled at all times in flight and during the operations of launching and landing the same.

It will be understood that by the provision of a supporting surface of the character described of adequate capacity, together with an efficient type of lifting and propelling wings, a ship of sutlicient size and lift ing capacity to carry a number of passengers, in addition to a pilot and crew, may be provided, and that sufiicient fuel and supplies may be stored within the car to serve for an extended trip or cruise.

I claim 1. An aerial ship comprising a car hav ing a main deck, a frame rising therefrom and supporting the upper deck and an aerostat above said upper deck, a passenger carrying equipment upon the main deck, a supporting surface auxiliary to the aerostat mounted thereon and including beating wings, a power plant mounted upon the upper deck, means actuated thereby for driving said wings, passageways between the respective decks and the upper deck and the overhead structure, suitable vertical and horizontal rudders, and means for controlling the same.

2. An airship comprising a boat-shaped car having a main deck, a frame structure rising therefrom, an aerostat at the top of the frame structure, an upper deck upon the frame structure between the aerostat and main deck, means affording communication between the respective decks and between the upper deck and overhead structure, wings extending laterally at an angle from the overhead structure above the aerostat, suitable vertical and horizontal rudders, means for controlling the same, a power plant controlled from the upper deck and including a shaft having a series of cranks, wings mounted in transverse pairs at intervals along and above the aerostat for pivotal motion in a vertical plane, said wings being provided with arms, and sliding link rods connecting the arms of the opposing pairs of wings with the cranks of the shaft.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ALEXANDER BRYANT.

WVitnesses ALBERT C. WOODCOCK, C. K. MADDEROM.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. G. 

